Events Manager

Company introduction
Kernel is a multi-niche recruitment group of ambitious and award-winning brands, each combining commerciality, ambition, and the ability to bring change-makers to the recruitment world. Located in four cities across three continents, they each have a specialist focus area: Catalyst Partners is redefining the HR and People recruitment experience; Dartmouth Partners has been recruiting excellence from Classroom to Boardroom for over 12 years; and Pure Search is the industry expert in governance and corporate markets. This year we are launching a further two businesses in the Group!

The Events Manager is a brand new position, and is to be owned and shaped by an ambitious and curious individual who wants the opportunity to build this focus area for the Group. Kernel is at an exciting moment of expanded growth of new challenger recruitment brands and our global teams are amping their activity.

Job description
I am after a highly organised, proactive, and collaborative Events Manager to join our team to play a key role in shaping and delivering the Group’s global events strategy. You will drive our ambition to elevate brand experience, deepen client and candidate engagement, and strengthen our internal culture. Reporting into the Group Head of Marketing, you will partner with all teams to ideate, plan, and execute a diverse range of internal and external events.

Your focus is to establish a best practice events function for the Group, building the processes, systems, and standards that ensure consistency, quality, and impact as we scale. In this role, you will be responsible for managing the full lifecycle of events: from concept development and stakeholder briefing, through logistics, vendor management, and delivery, to measurement and review and extended the post-event impact.

You will need to create and maintain a global venue and supplier library, implement structured feedback loops and ROI tracking to continuously improve our approach. Working closely with the global teams, you will ensure each event supports theirs - and the Group's - growth objectives and reinforces the strength of our brand portfolio.

Please note we are unable to provide sponsorship for this role.

Some of your responsibilities
• Plan, manage, and deliver events across all Kernel brands (internal, client-facing, virtual, hybrid, experiential... whatever it takes!), ensuring alignment with marketing and business objectives
• Manage event project timelines and all stakeholders from concept through delivery, and post-event activity, keeping all accountable and on-track
• Coordinate event logistics including production, suppliers, timelines, budgets, and stakeholder communication
• Source third-party sponsors for brand events
• Build and implement a formal events process to standardise planning, approvals, delivery, post event reviews, feedback and ROI tracking, producing insights and recommendations to improve effectiveness
• Introducing tools or templates to support standardising and creating efficiency of global events
• Create and maintain a global venue and supplier database, including suitability, pricing, contracts, and performance reviews
• Supporting with in-house Kernel events, across our global offices

Who I am looking for
• A team player - you'll have autonomy and own this role but we're a team first and foremost
• 3–5 years of direct experience in events production and management, delivering multi-format events (in-person, virtual, hybrid). Years are a guide - I welcome applicants who demonstrate capability and drive
• Direct experience of sourcing sponsorship from clients and third-parties
• Confident individual who can ideate, prioritise, multi task, and stay calm under pressure
• Strong communication skills - clear, polished, and adaptable to different audiences
• A proactive, solutions focused approach with strong attention to detail
• Comfortable working across multiple projects with evolving needs

Nice to have
• Experience working on conference events
• Experience working in a multi-brand or international organisation
• Familiarity with HubSpot and event-tech platforms
• Proficiency in creating video content is highly desirable as is the need and willingness to be hands-on across all aspects of marketing whilst the team is in its own growth period

Benefits
• A manager who is committed to your personal and professional growth, encouraging an inclusive work environment, entrepreneurship and ‘trial and error’ to achieve successes
• 26.5 days’ annual leave per annum
• Private healthcare, health cash plan, life assurance and critical illness cover (all available post-probation)
• Wellness and mental health support including access to free counselling services and internal support
• Incentives such as lunch clubs, Group awards, and trips abroad as well as monthly team and Group socials
• Discretionary annual bonus of up to 15% of base salary, based on a combination of personal performance and Group performance
• Discounted gym membership with Virgin Active
• Cycle to work scheme

Our office culture
Our standard office work schedule is five days to support our commitment to providing a collaborative and in-person environment. We do also offer the flexible arrangement of allowing employees the option to work from home on Fridays to support our colleagues achieving a healthy work-life balance while ensuring continued productivity and engagement.